Anheuser-Busch to lay off hundreds of US corporate workers after Bud Light campaign disaster
Anheuser-Busch is set to lay off nearly 400 workers at its corporate offices in the wake of slumping sales that accelerated on April 1, when Bud Light partnered with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
The company revealed in a statement to The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday that the cut will affect “less than 2%” of its workforce which, according to Anheuser-Busch’s website, includes 19,000 workers.
The layoffs won’t impact front-line workers such as brewery and warehouse staff, the company told The Journal.
The restructuring, the outlet reported, will eliminate corporate and marketing roles at major US offices, including in St. Louis, New York, and Los Angeles.
Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth added in the written statement: “While we never take these decisions lightly, we want to ensure that our organization continues to be set for future long-term success.”
“These corporate structure changes will enable our teams to focus on what we do best — brewing great beer for everyone,” the embattled chief executive added, who’s been notoriously tight-lipped since Mulvaney’s posts outraged Bud Light’s consumer base.
The Post has sought comment from Anheuser-Busch, which will release its second-quarter earnings on Aug. 2.
Anheuser-Busch has already axed marketing executives blamed for Bud Light’s disastrous campaign with Mulvaney.
A current regional head of marketing told the Daily Caller last month that while Bud Light’s corporate parent denied firing marketing VP Alissa Heinerscheid and the group VP of Anheuser-Busch’s mainstream portfolio, Daniel Blake, they were actually “gone gone.”
The source, who was granted anonymity for discussing internal company policy, added: “To my understanding, if we publicly announced the word ‘fire,’ it opens up the potential for them to sue us. That’s why we said leave of absence.”
It’s unclear if any other staffers have been handed pink slips in the wake of Mulvaney’s boycott-inducing campaign, where one post saw her relaxing in a bubble bath with a Bud Light.
Users on social media, however, have been calling for Whitworth to resign, especially following his shoddy attempt at addressing the controversy with a statement in April that said: “We never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people. We are in the business of bringing people together over a beer.”
“And incompetent Anheuser-Busch Chief Executive Brendan Whitworth keeps his job. An affront to all Americans,” one user tweeted on Thursday in response to the impending layoffs.
“Brendan Whitworth, all you had to do was apologize but you won’t, so stick your AB beverages where the sun don’t shine!” another outraged user wrote.
“Brendan Whitworth is a failed CEO,” a third replied.
Since April, Bud Light sales have been in consistent decline.
Come May, Mexican lager Modelo Especial dethroned Bud Light as America’s top-selling beer — a title Bud Light held for over 20 years.
In the week ended June 17, Bud Light suffered its steepest weekly drop since its disastrous tie-up with Mulvaney, falling an eye-popping 28.5% versus a year ago, according to sales figures issued by Bump Williams Consulting and NielsenIQ.
Then over the Fourth of July weekend — the most important beer-drinking holiday on the US calendar — Bud Light sales fell 23.6% in the one-week period ending July 8 compared to the same week in 2022, Bump Williams’ data showed.
The boycott has also bled into other beers in Anheuser-Busch’s expansive portfolio, which includes Budweiser, Michelob Ultra, and Stella Artois.
According to Bump Williams’ latest figures, Bud Light sales tumbled 26.1% for the week ending July 15.
